Townhome Proposal Raises Concerns

BOCA RATON — Residents of northeast Boca Raton have clamored for projects that would revitalize North Federal Highway, an area dotted with older, strip shopping centers.

But in an odd twist of the "not in my back yard" syndrome, a proposal to turn storefronts into luxury townhouses has invoked the ire of some people who say they'd prefer to keep the shopping center.

"I bought here in the neighborhood. It had a commercial building there. That's what it's zoned for," said Roger Dey, who lives in the Caribbean Keys neighborhood to the east of the proposed townhouses. "To bring in a high-density residential project, I would not have bought here."

The city's Planning and Zoning Board will review a proposal on Thursday that would put 104 townhouses in place of the 12-acre Kingsbridge Square shopping center and Carson Ribs and Steaks.

Kingsbridge Square is a collection of one-story buildings that house a women's gym, animal hospital, restaurant and a handful of other businesses. A November fire wiped out one of the buildings and drove out several tenants.

Usually, residents object when they see plans to put in a shopping center, high-traffic grocery stores or rental apartments.

The proposed complex, Windsor Court, features 3,000-square-foot, three-story townhouses with two-car garages, all at more than $600,000 each. The proposal calls for a gated community with a guarded front entrance and 25-foot-tall hedges to shield the neighborhood from Federal Highway and the houses east of the site.

The Planning and Zoning Board will review the project at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 201 W. Palmetto Park Road.

If approved, the proposal will be given to the city council. Four of the five-member council must approve the project before developers can proceed because the townhouses will require a zoning change from commercial to residential.

Residents who live near the proposed townhouses say they'll fight a zoning change. They don't think the townhouses will help revitalize the area; they will only add more traffic and people, even though the developer's traffic study shows the townhouses would produce 728 daily trips. The shopping center brings in 3,584 daily trips.

Dey said he fears the more likely scenario is that the townhouses would turn into less desirable rentals, rather than revitalize Federal Highway and fetch the $600,000 price the developers think they'll get. He said people would be more likely to buy luxury townhouses on East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, not on Federal Highway in northeast Boca Raton.

"Atlantic Avenue is where it's happening these days. It's a very popular place. From Atlantic Avenue, you can walk to the beach. You're not walking to the beach from here," Dey said. "There's no entertainment in the area, there's no comparison."

Caribbean Keys residents also had problems with the proposed height, as well as the number of units the developers wanted to build. Residents wanted fewer townhouses at a reduced height.

The project's size and scope hasn't changed, but Windsor Court's developers said they added architectural flourishes to the rear of the townhouses so the "back looks just as nice as the front," said Gus Tarnowski, vice president of Scott Blakeslee Disher & Associates, which is handling the Windsor Court project.

While residents are fighting the proposal, the people who make their livelihood at Kingsbridge Square are wondering about their futures.

Dr. Scott Lund, a veterinarian whose office has been at Kingsbridge Square for six years, said his 10-year lease entitles him to money from his landlord for a new office should the building be demolished, as well as moving expenses.

"I do have a nice, strong, long lease, and I plan to push it," Lund said.

Not so certain is the future of the Wellness Community Southeast, which has a lease that expires in March.

The center, a private nonprofit group that offers psychological, social and emotional support to cancer patients and their families and friends, has been at its Boca Raton location for five years, and is trying to get a five-year extension. However, it is having a disagreement with the landlord over whether it qualifies for that extension.

"We're not going to stand in the way of development, but we need to be compensated," said Ron Gache, an attorney and member of the board of directors for the Wellness Community Southeast.

Still others say they just want something done with the site.

Tarina Rasmussen, president of the Boca Harbour homeowners association who lives roughly six blocks from Kingsbridge Square, said she hasn't seen the townhouse proposal yet, but wants something built that would bring business and people back to the North Federal Highway area.

"Anything has got to be better than a depressed shopping center," Rasmussen said.

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641.